The invention relates generally to a method of loading tape from a plurality of reels on a single carrier and an apparatus for effecting and controlling the loading of the tape on a turntable on which the tape of a recorded program is wound, and more particularly in the loading and use of a pair of turntables for processing a tape having recorded thereon a lengthy program.
Generally, it has been practiced to take a tape of a recorded program, such as a movie, and load it on a turntable by winding it from the interior of the turntable outwardly and varying the length of the tape per revolution of the turntable directly with the radius of the winding. The inner end of the tape is led through appropriate apparatus for rendering the recorded program. The tape, after it passes through the appropriate apparatus, is then led back to the turntable and rewound from the center of a second turntable outwardly. After the program has ended, a take-up ring is removed from the second turntable and placed on the first turntable. Film is then pulled from the center of the second turntable through the use device back to the first turntable for take-up. Although this eliminates the need for rewind, rethreading is necessary.
One form of known apparatus for winding an endless tape is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,018, wherein a program recorded on a tape is wound on a horizontally positioned turntable starting out from the inside of the turntable and outwardly to the outer periphery of the turntable. It is essential that the tape be wound in such manner that the length of the tape removed from the inside of the turntable, during the rendition of the program, be equal to the length of the tape which is returned back to the turntable for rewinding. To accomplish this, the known apparatus uses an arrangement for measuring the length of the removed tape so that it corresponds with the length of the tape being rewound on the turntable. In other words, a tape metering device is used in conjunction with other sensing devices which take up slack in the tape or relieve tension in the tape whenever it is being overstretched. The foregoing means are complex and do not necessarily guarantee that the winding and unwinding of the tape will occur without malfunctions. Furthermore, the known apparatus requires a superstructure above the turntable for supporting a plurality of pressure pads which are effective to define a corresponding plurality of scallops which are responsible for defining an undulating conformation of the wound tape. Since it is almost impossible to have a plurality of pressure pads which will exert uniform pressure on the tape which is being wound, discrepancies in the lengths of the wound tape will occur, creating problems in failure to obtain uniform tension throughout the wound tape. As a result, the symmetry of the desired scallops is not achieved.